Labradors number 1, Yorkshire Terriers number 2

IN a dog-loving nation, the lists seem to say something.

The American Kennel Club yesterday announced a shift
in its 10 most popular dog breeds in the nation and in the city,

or at least in that elite group of purebred dogs whose

pedigrees and papers are in order.

At a Rockefeller Center news conference filled with handlers,

dogs and photographers, the club noted that the dog

claming the No. 1 ranking had not changed.
Across the country, the most popular dog last year,

as it has been for 16 years in a row, was the Labrador retriever.

But the big news, the club said, was the No. 2 ranking
in both the city and the country: the Yorkshire terrier,

overtaking larger breeds like the golden retriever and the German shepherd.
The tiny Yorkie, favored by the wife played by Eva Gabor in

television’s “Green Acres,” had about

48,000 registrations in the United States, or 5%.